The overall objective of this research is to develop a highly automated DNA sequencing system that can be sold to molecular biology researchers or commercial firms interested in carrying out large scale sequencing projects. The complete system will include robotic reaction preparation, high capacity gel electrophoresis system, robotic gel loading, automatic gel film reader and software for managing the data. The specific aim of this proposal is limited to development of commercially feasable prototypes of the gel box, the autoradiographic film reader and the associated gel assembly software. The aim is a system with the capability to read up to 200,000 bases of raw sequence per day (20 x-ray films with 10,000 bases each) which can be merged to yield between 20,000 and 40,000 base pairs of assembled sequence per day throughput. The system is designed to require a minimum of attention for the user. It is estimated that the manufactured product will be placed on the market at less than $30,000.